Amid China's growing influence in Sri Lanka, India signs historic defence pact with island nation. What does it entail?

In what could be termed a historic moment, India and Sri Lanka signed a defence cooperation pact for the first time, detailing a broader roadmap for deeper bilateral cooperation amid the increasing attempts by China to court the island nation.

Media reports, quoting analysts, have said the defence deal, which comes nearly four decades after the Indian Peace Keeping Force's intervention in Sri Lanka, would be a major milestone in the relationship between the two countries.

While the two countries are already engaged in defence dialogues, joint military and naval drills, training and workshops, the new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will entail the exchange of tri-service officers, training, staff talks and exchange of information between the forces, cooperation in the defence industry, and in the field of defence technology and research. The MoU will be in force for the next five years.

The defence pact is among seven key agreements signed by the two sides following wide-ranging talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

"We believe that our security interests are similar. The security of both countries is interlinked and dependent on each other," Modi said in his media statement during the visit, adding, "I am grateful to President Dissanayake for his sensitivity towards India's interests. We welcome the important agreements concluded in defence cooperation."

India-Sri Lanka defence partnership has been, and continues to be, an invaluable asset for Sri Lanka, Defence Secretary Sampath Thuyacontha said.

India and China have been trying to influence the island nation through strategic investments, political engagement, and economic diplomacy. In possibly what comes as an attempt to assuage India's concerns over growing Chinese presence and influence in the country, Dissanayake said he assured Modi that Sri Lanka will not allow its territory to be used in any manner inimical to India's security interests.

Defence